Devil's Den Cave
Devil's Den is formed by a karst window, in which the roof over a subterranean river has collapsed, exposing the water to the open surface, near Williston, Florida. It is privately owned, and operated as a SCUBA diving training and recreational facility.
The water in the underground river is geothermically warmed at a constant 72 °F (22 °C) degrees. But in cold weather, water vapor rising from the surface of the river forms a visible plume above the entrance to the cave, which suggested a chimney from Hell to early settlers. The opening to the surface was originally a small solution sinkhole, through which visitors had to squeeze to reach the water. The opening was enlarged in the 1990s to ease access. The cave expands below water level (a shape described as an "inverted mushroom") to up to 200 feet (61 m) across. The maximum depth of the cave reaches 54 ft/16.5 m with the surface diameter being 120 ft. The water level in the cave has fallen along with the water table in the area. However, as of 2018 the water level has risen above the main stage/platform. The cave was opened to the public as a dive site in the early 1990s.[1]
Four underwater passages extend from the pool under the opening, from 5 feet (1.5 m) to 90 feet (27 m) under the surface of the water. The passage called chamber 3, 70 feet (21 m) under water, contained animal and human remains and artifacts. The animal remains, which appeared to be associated with the human remains and artifacts, were from extinct (Pleistocene) species, including mastodons, ground sloths, camels, horses, dire wolves, bog lemmings, Florida spectacled bears, saber-toothed cats, and peccaries. One study dated the human remains to about 7,500 BC. A more recent study analyzing rare earth elements in the bones found in the cave concluded that the bones of humans and of Pleistocene animals were of about the same age, about 13,000 years old.[1][2][3][4]
References
- ^ a b Walden, Linda Lee. "Devil's Den: Underground and Open Air". Dive sites Across America. Dive Training Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ Purdy, Barbara A. (2008). Florida's People During the Last Ice Age. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-3204-7.
- ^ Kurtén, Björn; Elaine Anderson (1980). Pleistocene Mammals of North America. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 56. ISBN 0-231-03733-3. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ Purdy, Barbara A.; Rohlwing, Kathryn M.; MacFadden, Bruce J. (2015-07-01). "Devil's Den, Florida: Rare Earth Element Analysis Indicates Contemporaneity of Humans and Latest Pleistocene Fauna". PaleoAmerica. 1 (3): 266–275. doi:10.1179/2055556315Z.00000000032. ISSN 2055-5563.
External links
- Devil's Den Spring homepage
29°24′27.45″N 82°28′35.29″W / 29.4076250°N 82.4764694°W / 29.4076250; -82.4764694
- v
- t
- e
cultures
sites
- Aqui Esta Burial Mound
- Bay Pines
- Bear Lake Mounds
- Big Heart West
- Big Mound City
- Big Mound Key-Boggess Ridge
- Bird Hammock
- Blueberry
- Bowers Bluff Middens
- Bubba Midden
- Burns Lake
- Butcherpen Mound
- Cayo Pelau
- Cayson Mound and Village
- C. J. Ostl
- Crystal River
- Cutler
- Demere Key
- Devil's Den Cave
- Dismal Key
- Douglass Beach
- Fort Center
- Fort Walton Mound
- Galt Island
- Garden Patch
- Green Mound
- Halfway Creek
- Helen Blazes
- Hickory Ridge Cemetery
- Hinson Mounds
- Horr's Island
- Indian Fields
- J&J Hunt
- Josslyn Island
- Jungle Prada
- Key Marco
- Kimball Island Midden
- Lake Jackson Mounds
- Lake Pithlachocco
- Letchworth-Love Mounds
- Little Salt Spring
- Madira Bickel Mound
- Manasota Key Offshore
- Mark Pardo Shellworks
- Miami Circle
- Mill Cove
- Monroe Lake
- Mound Key
- Mount Elizabeth
- Mount Royal
- Mount Taylor
- Mullet Key
- Myakkahatchee Creek
- Naval Live Oaks Cemetery
- Nocoroco
- Ormond Mound
- Ortona Prehistoric Village
- Otis Hare
- Page-Ladson
- Persimmon Mound
- Pierce
- Pineland
- Platt Island
- Plaza
- Pompano Beach Mound
- Portavant Mound
- Porter's Bar
- Princess Mound
- River Styx
- Roberts Island
- Rock Mound
- Rookery Mound
- Ross Hammock
- Safety Harbor
- Shark River Slough
- Shell Bluff Landing
- Spruce Creek
- Third Gulf Breeze
- Thomas Creek
- Turner River
- Turtle Mound
- Twin Mounds
- Upper Tampa Bay
- Useppa Island
- Velda Mound
- Waddells Mill Pond
- Wakulla Springs
- Warm Mineral Springs
- Windover
- Yent Mound
- Yon Mound and Village
remains
- Related
- Pre-Columbian era
This article about a location in Levy County, Florida is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e